Fall of a Hero
by Darkurai the Oracle Pony
Summary: When he is unable to best Meta Knight at his strongest, Kirby decides to take a new approach to his fighting. But every idea has its dark side.
1. Prelude to the Knight

Fall of a Hero

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|GK|

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_**CLANG!!**_

The screech of metal on metal split the air in two as their blades clashed with the force of all the heavens. The two warriors pulled apart, each shaken slightly from the magnitude of the blow. Recovering from the recoil of the collision, Kirby looked up to see the sharp yellow blade coming at him again. With a growl of determination, he quickly rolled to the side, causing the sword to miss him; but only barely.

Jumping to his feet, Kirby looked around for his opponent, who had disappeared without a trace, as if into thin air. He spun quickly, expecting to be attacked from behind at any minute, but the space behind him was just as devoid of life as the rest of the room. Just as he relaxed for a moment, Kirby's ear caught the slight swish of a cape behind him. Without a second thought he pivoted around on one stubby red leg and slashed wildly with his sword behind him. However, his opponent was ready and easily blocked the reckless blow with his own sword.

Before Kirby could even register what happened, an elbow slammed into his round belly, knocking the wind from his lungs and forcing him to topple over on the ground. A serrated golden sword filled his vision as his opponent rested the very tip of the sword lightly just below Kirby's mouth.

"Your swordsmanship still needs work," Meta Knight noted, swinging his sword around and slipping it silently into its sheath. His bright yellow eyes glimmered with satisfaction at still being unmatched by anyone in Dreamland.

"Oh come_ on_!" Kirby protested, jumping to his feet in fury. "You know I almost beat you earlier!"

"Almost may count in Plasma and Bomb abilities," Meta Knight growled, giving Kirby a stern stare, "But not in Sword. You said you wanted to take on Sword as your True Copy, correct?"

Kirby took a step forward. "Yeah, but-"

Meta Knight cut him off with a wave of his hand, raising his voice to drown out Kirby's. "Then you need to start being more serious!" he snapped. "Do you think mastery comes about overnight? Of course not! Even outside of our sparring matches, you must at least _pick up _that sword every day and practice to get the feel for it. Only once you are comfortable with a blade it your hands can you ever truly master it."

The pick warrior rolled his eyes in exasperation. It had been months since Kirby had begun these training sessions with Meta Knight, and every day he came closer to defeating the legendary knight. Kirby was convinced he had a good enough grasp on the ability, though he wished Meta Knight would ligthen up for just one minute. "I think you're just a little _too_ serious about this sword thing."

"You cannot be 'too serious' about your True Copy!" Meta Knight insisted sharply, his hand twitching towards his own sword for a moment. "Do you even fully understand what your True Copy is?"

"Oh here we go again," Kirby didn't bother hiding the sarcasm in his voice. He could think of a thousand and one things he would rather do than listen to another one of Meta Knight's lectures about True Copy abilities. He'd heard the same speech at least eighteen times, and was pretty sick of it at this point.

"Your True Copy isn't just a copy ability that you really like and choose to hang on to," Meta Knight began, ignoring Kirby's obvious irritation. "It must become a part of you! After choosing your True Copy, there's no turning back! You can never change your mind, because it will be too late. What's more, the Sword is the most difficult True Copy to use, because it is not a natural ability. It takes practice to truly master!"

Meta Knight's heartfelt words fell on uncaring ears, and he could feel his face growing hot with anger underneath his mask as he saw that Kirby had dozed off after standing idle for so long. He drew his sword in one swift movement and smacked the rebellious pink hero over the head with the flat of the blade. Kirby gave a squeal of annoyance and leapt to his feet angrily.

"Yeah, well how often did_ you _practice with the Sword before choosing it as your True Copy?!" Kirby retaliated hotly. "Maybe you should practice what you preach."

"_I_ practiced every day," Meta Knight replied coolly, sliding his sword back into the sheath at his waist with a soft _hsss_ of metal against leather.

"Every day?" Kirby echoed in disbelief.

"_Every_ day," Meta Knight was becoming more and more irked with the younger hero by the second, but fought hard to keep his voice steady and calm, though not without a hint of condescendence. _No battle is won by the warrior with anger clouding his judgment_, the seasoned swords master told himself sternly. When he was sure he had his anger under control, Meta Knight continued, "I practiced every day, because I knew if I wanted to truly be able to use the Sword, I needed to become completely accustomed to wielding it. I knew I needed to practice every day, and you are no different!"

"Alright!" Kirby shouted, still defiant but defeated. "Fine! I'll practice more! Just please get off my back!"

"Hmph," was the only response Meta Knight gave, turning away from Kirby in disgust. "We shall see." With that, Meta Knight covered himself with his Dimensional Cape and disappeared into the empty air.

Kirby was beginning to lose his patience with Meta Knight. Who did he think he was, anyway? Did _he_ finally vanquish Nightmare? Did _he _travel the Stars and find every single Crystal Shard? Did _he _defeat Dark Mind? And just where was _he _when Drawcia cursed all of Dream Land?

Kirby was the hero here – not Meta Knight – and Kirby knew this. And still Meta Knight struts around like some sort of all powerful being with no match, having never been bested even by enemies from other dimensions.

So maybe he was the greatest swordsman in Dreamland. Did that give him the right to treat Kirby like an inexperienced child? Meta Knight may have been better that Kirby, but how often did he really practice with the Sword nowadays? It probably wasn't every day. If Meta Knight didn't need to practice every single day, why did Kirby, the Hero of Dreamland?

_I don't need to practice every day,_ Kirby thought angrily as he slashed his sword at the empty air where Meta Knight had stood moments before. _Meta Knight is just acting all high and mighty to make me look like a fool! _The sword's path became more frenzied as Kirby pictured for a moment it cutting through Meta Knight's armor like a hot knife through butter. Fury swarmed around his head like angry hornets.

Finally Kirby dropped to the ground in exhaustion, letting his sword slip away and land with a sharp clatter on the cold stone floor. As the adrenaline of Kirby's temper tantrum ebbed away, he let out a deep sigh and stretched out to stare up at the ceiling. _One day I'll beat him, _He told himself forcefully. _That'll bring him down off his high-horse. I'm better than him, after all. I know I am._

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|GK|

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Credit where credit is due

Original concept: Darkurai

Primary drafting: Darkurai

Editing and final draft: peofun1

Kirby, Meta Knight, and all other characters and concepts from the Kirby series of video games are copyright Nintendo and HAL Laboratories. Darkurai, the writer, does not hold or claim any ownership to these characters.


	2. Trial City Meeting

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GK

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Pop Star had a generally temperate climate, and to the people that live there it always seemed to be summertime. Endless days of warmth and sunshine stretched on through the year, with the occasional rainstorm to ruin someone's picnic, of course. With such lovely weather all the time, it's a wonder that the people don't live outside all the time. But there are always those days where it seems everyone is outside enjoying the sun and the gentle breeze.

It was one of those days it was one of those days, and the streets were unbelievably crowded with street vendors, tourists and townsfolk alike as Kirby wander through Trial City. He couldn't be sure if there was a festival going on or what today; perhaps everyone just decided to go outside. But Kirby's mind was still preoccupied with his catastrophic battle with Meta Knight.

"Hey, Kirb!" Kirby's thoughts shattered like glass with a rock thrown through it when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Turning to see who had interrupted him, Kirby saw his friend Dee hurrying towards him.

"Oh, hey Dee," Kirby mumbled distractedly.

"Kirb, I hear this new bakery just opened up in the Star Tower Mall," Dee bounced excitedly at the thought of all the new pastries waiting for them in the currently unexplored bakery. "Wanna check it out?"

Kirby studied the Waddle Dee in front of him with an almost disdainful look. The two had been friends since they traveled together years ago on a quest to find the shards of the Crystal of Ripple Star. However it always seemed that Dee was the most chipper when Kirby was brooding; a most annoying habit. It had been a fun journey with their friends, though. Kirby let himself reminisce about the old days for a minute. Dee was the one who asked what the crystal was for. Ribbon told him that-…

…Ribbon…

Kirby's thoughts trailed off.

"Kirby?" Dee's worried voice snapped him back to reality.

Kirby averted his gaze and watched a flock of birds saunter lazily by over his head. "I'm really not in the mood, Dee."

"Wanna go to Machine Passage, then?" The Waddle Dee never got discouraged, and sounded as hyper as ever, even after one disappointment. "I just bought a new Turbo Star. Man, it's awesome. It's the new model with the-"

"I just wanna go home, Dee,"

"What's wrong?" Dee's face scrunched up almost comically in confusion. "It's such a beautiful day. I mean, it's always a beautiful day, but-"

"It's that bastard _Meta Knight!_" Kirby growled angrily, punching the wall of the nearest store and scaring the wits out of some nearby tourists. "I can't beat him in a spar! And he treats me like a child! I already know how to use a damn sword, why can't he remember that!?"

"Why don't you have a master train you?" Dee suggested tentatively, edging out of Kirby's range.

"What?" The pink hero turned his gaze to Dee quickly.

"You know, a Swordmaster."

"You mean like the Trueblade?"

"That's a bit too wishful. I'm talking about Swiftblade."

"Swiftblade?"

"Yeah, he just came here recently." Dee explained, a little more comfortable now that Kirby seemed to have calmed down. "Apparently, he's a master swordsman from a far-off land. I heard he trained a great hero to use the sword. Maybe he could help you."

Kirby let the thought marinate for a moment. Dee watched him eagerly, hoping good news would put Kirby in the mood to see that bakery after all. _A 'great hero', huh?_ Kirby thought. This Swiftblade guy must really be all that. _If he could train a great hero, why not me?_

"Alright," Kirby's sudden reply startled Dee from where he'd been dozing off in the warm sunshine. He looked up at his friend and was a little alarmed to see an almost evil glint in Kirby's eye as a sly smile spread across his round pink face. "Where can I find this Swiftblade?"

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GK

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Credit where credit is due

Original concept: Darkurai

Primary drafting: Darkurai

Editing and final draft: peofun1

Kirby, Meta Knight, and all other characters and concepts from the Kirby series of video games are copyright Nintendo and HAL Laboratories. Darkurai, the writer, does not hold or claim any ownership to these characters.


End file.
